Do you know your body fat?

Is your weight considered normal?
When you factor in your age, body type, fitness level and height does your weight fall in the range considered normal by health care professionals? Very fit people often weigh more than unfit people of the same size. Your genetics, your age, your fitness level and your height will all play a role in what is normal for you. If you are in the normal range you do not need to go on a weight loss diet.
When it comes to tracking weight loss, most of us rely on the scale to tell us whether we've lost or gained weight. But, as people are fast learning, this isn't the best way to keep track of your weight. A scale measures everything including muscle, fat, bones, and what you ate or drank that day. It doesn't tell you what you really need to know: how much fat do you have?

Body Composition

Body composition is simply the ratio of lean body mass to fat body mass. Too much fat can lead to health problems like heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and other serious conditions. If you keep your body fat within a reasonable level, you'll be healthier and, of course, slimmer.

Body Fat Categories for Women

* 10-12% - Essential Fat
* 14-20% - Athletic Fat Levels
* 21-24% - Fitness Fat Levels
* 25-31% - Acceptable Fat Levels
* >32% - Obese

Body Fat Categories for Men

* 2-4% - Essential Fat
* 6-13% - Athletic Fat Levels
* 14-17% - Fitness Fat Levels
* 18-25% - Acceptable Fat levels
* >26% - Obese

So, how do you find out what your body fat is? Below is one of the most popular methods for testing body composition.
Hydrostatic Weighing

This is just a fancy way of saying underwater weighing. This test is one of the more accurate ones. How it works:

* You sit on a scale inside a tank of water and blow out as much air as you can
* You are dunked underwater, where you blow out even more air
* Since fat is lighter than water, the more fat you have, the more you'll float. The scale measures underwater weight to figure out body density.
* The margin of error is around 2-3%, but the accuracy depends on the amount of air you expel. You have to blow it ALL out or it won't be as accurate.
* This is a difficult way to measure body fat since it can be uncomfortable and even scary to be dunked underwater with no air in the old lungs.

FitnessWorkx is giving you the opportunity to use the Hydrostatic test Friday January 8th! Contact us today to join our Weight Loss Challenge or if you would like to get the test with out entering the contest, that's fine too! Call or email us today to schedule your test!